And breathe. The Team SoloMid fanbase were prepared to bite their fingernails and exhale both sighs of relief (and disappointment) as their team represented North America at the Mid-Season Invitational… but not during the Play-In stage, this was supposed to be a formality. As TSM stepped on-stage to face Vietnam’s Gigabyte Marines, many assumed the NA LCS champions’ group stage slot was already secured, but in an embarrassing episode, GAM came within one game of delivering a major upset.

Far from the clean series sweep that many were expecting, the Gigabyte Marines took Team SoloMid to a nervy Game 5, forcing a reverse sweep from the North American hopefuls to confirm their place at the tournament finals in Rio de Janeiro in a week’s time. The dynamic Vietnamese team, that looked so dominant throughout the Play-In groups stages of the Mid-Season Invitational, appeared unfazed by the reputation of their opposition and came within inches of clinching the series.

Source: Riot Games Flickr

Whether Team SoloMid denote their slow start to jet lag or simply an adjustment to their new environment, the series victory over the Gigabyte Marines will be remembered as a great escape as opposed to a great start. Falling to a two game deficit, every subsequent TSM game victory was a welcome relief for their fans whose minds were a whir of the potential backlash the squad would receive for falling to a previously unknown entity.

Whilst Team SoloMid are an eSports brand known across the globe, the Marines squad had triumphed in the minor league of Vietnam, required to prove their worth once more in the GPL regional championship, and then the Group Stage of the Play-In. Other Mid-Season Invitational attendants had refused to scrim the challengers, for whom each second on stage was an invaluable experience; the Gigabyte Marines had worked hard to earn their seat at the table and were going make sure TSM earned theirs.

Source: Riot Games Flickr

The Marines certainly put TSM through their paces, forcing a hectic pace to the opening two matches of the series. Jungler Duy Khanh “Levi” Do put his opposite number Dennis “Svenskeren” Johnsen to the sword, superior pathing, ganking and initiating whenever the opportunity presented itself quickly put the NA LCS Spring Split champions on the back foot.

As Svenskeren perhaps complacently assumed his access rights into the GAM jungle, the underdogs struck early to earn first blood. From there, Levi’s Kha’Zix snowballed to gain small advantages in otherwise outclassed solo lanes. It was expected that TSM’s solo laners would simply overpower their counterparts, yet Van Cuong “Optimus” Tran in the mid lane and top laner Phan “Stark” Công Minh held their own for the Marines.

Game 2 served as a wake-up call for TSM, who shot out of the blocks with a potentially embarrassing defeat on the line to establish a foothold in the series. Top laner Kevin “Hauntzer” Yarnell had visibly grit his teeth and showed no mercy in solo-killing Stark at every given opportunity. Team SoloMid cruised to victory in game 3, but even then the Marines threatened to win both Game 4 and Game 5.

TSM’s nexus turrets were in jeopardy towards the end of Game 4, and had it not been for some fortunate death timers, GAM may well have grabbed the victory that was dangling so tantalisingly in front of them. Perhaps overreaching for glory, Team SoloMid cleaned out their base, grabbed baron, sieged down the Vietnamese base and cued the silver scrapes for the Sao Paulo area.

Source: Riot Games Flickr

TSM sought to take the sting out of the marines’ attack in Game 5, shifting Sven away from aggressive carry-style junglers and onto the Ivern that had been allowed to slip through picks and bans. With shields flying left, right and centre, TSM prevented any sort of meaningful engage from GAM, slowly soothing any fears of a major international upset and completing a 3-2 victory.

Team SoloMid have now confirmed their progression to Rio de Janeiro, where they will not be afforded a two game warm-up against the best regional teams from across the globe. A loss at the hands of the Gigabyte Marines would have been devastating, but to be able to identify weaknesses and demonstrate resilience, at such an early stage in proceedings, may prove to be beneficial for the North American representatives if they hope to make a deep run in the Mid-Season Invitational.

CLICKON eSports’ 2017 Mid-Season Invitational Predictions

CLICKON’s 2017 Mid-Season Invitational Predictions

With the 2017 Mid-Season Invitational set to kick off, CLICKON eSports predicts where each team will finish.

DNQ: SuperMassive eSports

After overcoming the hometown RED Canids to finish on top of Group A, SuperMassive will not make it to the final stage of MSI. While their expected match-up against the Gigabyte Marines could go either way, early mistakes that showed throughout the group stage could create advantages for Gigabyte that SuperMassive will not be able to overcome.

6th: Gigabyte Marines

The GPL Champion Gigabyte Marines advanced from group B with two solid days of work that proved they were the clear best team. With aggresive shotcalling and creative cross map playmaking, Gigabyte should be able to take down SuperMassive in a very close series to earn a trip to the final stage at MSI. Once there unfortunately, it will be hard for the Vietnamese squad to make a splash, and they could very likely fail to win a single match.

5th: G2 eSports

Its hard to trust the EU LCS Champions after their history of horrid performances against international competition (G2-8). While they are undoubtedly the best team in Europe, G2 will need mid laner PerkZ to step up in a big way against a stacked international talent pool. Look for Expect in the top lane to be a possible weakness for a team that must perform well to salvage Europe's and their own reputation. Their will be no matches more important than those against TSM, as the winner will likely advance to the playoff and earn the preferential seeding at Worlds.

3rd/4th: Team SoloMid

The NA LCS Champions arrive to Brazil after an extremely close series that came down to the final teamfight. After falling flat at Worlds, TSM are searching for redemption at MSI and to establish themselves - and NA - as a region to pay attention to. The big question for this team will be the performance of their bot lane, but if they are able to hold, the stars for TSM in the top and Mid lane should be able to create advantages the team can ride to multiple victories at this tournament. Look forward to their matches against G2, as the NA vs EU rivalry will likely decide the final playoff spot.

3rd/4th: Team WE

Team World Elite asserted their dominance in the LPL with a 3-0 victory over Royal Never Give Up in the LPL Finals. On a roster that features an underrated ADC in Mystic and one of the best junglers in Condi, do not be surprised if WE finished in the top two of this tournament. If there is a weakness, it may be mid laner Xiye, who has struggled in lane at times and may be exploited by the other top mids such as Faker and Maple.

2nd: Flash Wolves

If there is a team that could challenge SKT, it is likely to be the LMS' Flash Wolves. Led by star mid laner Maple and jungler Karsa, Flash Wolves looked dominant in their run at IEM Katowice and within their region, as they lost only one regular season game. Their macro understanding and individual talent level will be able to carry them to the top of the standings, and possible concerns about their bot and top lane have continued to be eased as the season has progressed. With a likely meeting between Flash Wolves and SKT in the Finals, can the "Korean Killers" strike again?

1st: SK Telecom T1

The clear tournament favorites, Korea's SKT enter the tournament after a dominant 3-0 sweep of KT Rolster in the LCK finals. With a roster that has continued to improve as the season has progressed, there is little reason to believe anyone will be able to stop SKT. Led by the most famous player in League of Legends, Faker will add to his growing list of championships with another MSI crown.